NFL Player News

Ridder was named as the Week 15 starter by Antonio Pierce last week, but that was before we knew Aidan O’Connell (knee) would try to play through the injury he suffered in Week 14. According to Schefter, O’Connell, who is questionable, will try to test things out in pregame warmups, but Ridder “is expected to start for now.” Assuming he gets the nod, Ridder will have a chance to face off against his former team who selected him No. 74 overall just three years ago. We’ve seen enough of Ridder to know he shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a low-end QB2 in fantasy leagues and should be kept off the radar altogether outside of 2QB/Superflex leagues.

Johnston suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers but did manage to play out the remainder of the game. Monday’s DNP designation could simply be a matter of rest as the Chargers look to get him ready to play on a short week on Thursday night. We’ll see if things look any different on Tuesday or Wednesday’s injury report’s before allowing ourselves to get too concerned about Johnston’s Week 16 availability against the Broncos.

Surtain left Week 15’s game against the Colts after intercepting Anthony Richardson, but it appears he’s all well and good. A full practice on Monday puts him in line to not even be questionable against the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. The question would then become: Will Denver will move him around to deal with Ladd McConkey?

He left Week 15’s game against the Colts with a quad injury early in the second half, and with Thursday Night Football looming, this might be too quick of a turnaround for him. It would actually be beneficial for fantasy managers to have less questions about Denver’s backfield, and McLaughlin missing a game would be a positive for the FLEX appeal of Javonte Williams and Audric Estime.

Herbert played through the same ankle injury in Week 15’s loss to the Buccaneers and should be fine for a pivotal Week 16 game against the Broncos on Thursday night. We’ll see how things like a little closer to game day, but Herbert opening the week as a limited participant is a good sign for his availability.

It’s just an estimated practice report, but this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Dissly suffered a shoulder injury in Week 14 and was reported to be on track to miss “a couple of weeks” because of the injury. There’s still time for him to get right, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he missed one more game on a short week.

It will end his regular season, at the very least. The Falcons third-year linebacker has been struggling with this knee issue all season, already serving an IR stint for it after Week 4. Andersen had played 29 snaps in Week 14 — his most since Week 4 — but will now miss at least the next four games. It’s possible that it shuts him down for the playoffs as well given the chronic nature of the issue. Andersen’s regular season ends with a 63.5 PFF run defense grade in 287 snaps. He had 47 combined tackles and one interception.

He’ll play in tonight’s game against the Raiders. The rookie second-round pick has only been a rotational defensive lineman thus far for the Falcons. He has a 53.4 PFF grade in 63 snaps, mostly as a pass rusher.

Ertz exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s win over the Saints and was ruled out with a concussion after halftime. The veteran tight end will have to clear protocol this week if he hopes to suit up for Week 16’s game against the Eagles. In addition to Ertz, safety Jeremy Chinn also landed himself in concussion protocol after Sunday’s game, meaning the Commanders could be without one starter on both sides of the ball.

Gilmore was listed as questionable heading into the game, but it sounds like the veteran corner will miss his second consecutive game with the hamstring injury that forced him from Week 13’s game against the Cardinals. With Gilmore out, the Vikings will likely start Fabian Moreau, who is listed as the next man up on the team’s depth chart.